USC's Josh Shaw suspended from team for lying about ankle injuries

EXPOSITION PARK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- USC football player Josh Shaw admitted he lied to the university athletic department about ankle injuries he sustained over the weekend, the school said Wednesday.

Shaw said he completely fabricated the story of how he rescued his nephew from a pool in Palmdale this weekend, according to a statement released by the university Wednesday afternoon.

Shaw was suspended indefinitely from all team activities.

Shaw had previously said he leaped from a second-story balcony to rescued his 7-year-old nephew, who was struggling in the pool during a family get-together in Palmdale.

"We are extremely disappointed in Josh," said USC Head Football Coach Steve Sarkisian. "He let us all down. As I have said, nothing in his background led us to doubt him when he told us of his injuries, nor did anything after our initial vetting of his story.

"I appreciate that Josh has now admitted that he lied and has apologized. Although this type of behavior is out of character for Josh, it is unacceptable. Honesty and integrity must be at the center of our program. I believe Josh will learn from this. I hope that he will not be defined by this incident, and that the Trojan Family will accept his apology and support him."

The university announced Monday that the senior cornerback, who was recently named a team captain, would be out indefinitely with two high-ankle sprains he suffered after jumping from a second-story balcony. Shaw said he saw his nephew, who cannot swim, struggling in the pool and jumped to save him. He said landed on the concrete, injuring his ankles, then crawled to the pool and pulled the boy to safety.

Shaw has retained Donald Etra as legal counsel, according to the school statement.

"On Saturday, August 23, 2014, I injured myself in a fall," Shaw said in a statement released by Etra on Wednesday. "I made up a story about this fall that was untrue. I was wrong not to tell the truth. I apologize to USC for this action on my part. My USC coaches, the USC athletic department and especially Coach Sarkisian have all been supportive of me during my college career and for that, I am very grateful."

The actual cause of the ankle injuries has not been released.

ABC News obtained information from an LAPD incident report.

From LAPD: "On Saturday, August 23rd, at approximately 10:40 p.m. PT officers from Central Division responded to a radio call of a screaming woman at the 500 block of North Figueroa. When they arrived, officers met with witnesses who directed them to an apartment complex. After numerous attempts to contact the residents of the apartment, officers feared someone may be in inside and made entry, but no one was home. Officers continued their investigation and noticed the rear window had been pried open. Witnesses described a black male with dreadlocks leaving the apartment balcony. Officers then later met with a woman who was a resident of the apartment along with her roommates. The female said that her boyfriend was Josh Shaw who is a black male with dreadlocks. Mr. Shaw is listed in the report as the victim's boyfriend who happened to have a similar description of the suspect leaving the apartment. No suspects have been arrested. The investigation is still ongoing."

Etra told ABC7's Rob Fukuzaki they would continue to investigate what happened. Etra told ESPN the situation is "absolutely nothing criminal."